The MEP BIM/CAD Engineer

Tuesday, November 29, 2016

This year has been a busy one…too busy to be paying much
attention to the posts, but it’s time to get back to some writing. So here’s
the latest….

Live at AU – Energy Modeling!

AU 2016 turned out to be one of the fastest ones I’ve ever
attended. The days screamed by, but it was cool to see Autodesk extend some
events into the Monday before. We’ve always had our Expert Elite and
Speaker/Blogger socials on Monday, but getting the rest of the crowd together
as well for a social expands what I consider to be the most important parts of
AU – the networking. I learn as much from my co-workers and fellow attendees
just from sitting down and talking shop, so that time is valuable to me.

I did three classes this year, two labs on Perfecting the
System with Revit, and a lecture on Powering BIM – Capitalizing on Revit for
Energy Modeling. You can see the latter at au.autodesk.com under the live streaming section. The labs were a blast this year, since we made sure everyone’s
datasets were open to the right models, and even to the right view. That way,
we could focus our time on the key topics, rather than having to wait for users
to find and open the projects. There was a lot of good feedback as well (as
well as a bizarre comment about not willing to have an open discussion, since
the class was based on my personal beliefs – huh? A lab?).

But the lecture, which was featured live, left wishing I had
more time to expand on why conservation is important to me. So here’s a clearer
view of my belief this time, to help fill up a few holes.

First – climate change. Yes. The climate changes. The
climate has always changed. Nothing about weather and related events is static.
While science can give us averages, most models are based on current
conditions, human assumptions and past trends. The input can cause a wide
variety of results, based on what outcome you want. That’s why I don’t believe
climate change should be used as a political football to force human behavior.
The world is so culturally diverse that it’s highly unlikely that you’ll get
every person on the planet to go back to the dark ages, even though some areas
may seem like that’s where they already are.

I love the outdoors. I love to hunt and fish. I love to
hike. Was raised by a family that loved to camp, and enjoy a lake. Love being
able to play with my dogs. Get awed by the beauty of God’s creation, whether it’s
standing at the edge of the Grand Canyon, straying 20-30 miles of the coast to
fish and seeing more life than you can possible imagine, to the beauty of an
early morning sunrise in central Tennessee, turkey hunting on my uncle’s farm.
You can’t sit still in those times, and not appreciate how important it is to
save all of this – and share it with others.

In the US, we’re consumers – always have been and always
will be, as are most developed countries. If you look around objectively, you’ll
learn that we are already of the mind to be conscious of our resources. The
impact of this consumption goes back centuries, and became prevalent during the
Manifest Destiny. But we’re only talking about one country on one continent. It’s
probably just as likely that pollution, deforestation, and other behavior that
was occurring during this period, already has had its impact. Wholesale changes
in the US alone, won’t be enough to alter the outcomes – you’ve got to get
other developed nations around the world to also uphold the same standards that
we’ve come to now. And some governments see this strictly as a US problem,
expecting us to be the leaders but not necessarily taking the same steps.

Where does that leave us? It’s not the fact that we have
abundant resources. It’s the fact that we have them, and use them like there’s
no tomorrow. As I stated in my lecture, I come from a different time – my approach
of conservatism is rooted in the belief that we have an obligation to conserve
our natural resources for future generations, and is why I support hunting and
fishing organizations that promote resource conservation. As long as it’s not
at the expense of relieving property owners of their assets, but rather working
in conjunction with them to set aside a reasonable amount that assures a
balance between personal/private needs with the overall common good. It can be
achieved as long as you don’t fail into the fears disseminated by the extremes
of our political parties. It can be achieved by providing non-biased, easy to
understand education about conservation combined with personal responsibility.

Second – this is why I say that leveraging our energy models
tools and practices is an industry obligation – not a government one. We don’t
need a group of politicians – which are far more likely to follow a trend to
win votes that actually be of service to their constituents, or being
technologically savvy enough to understand the science – to be the ones making
decisions about leveraging design technology to reduce our impact on the
environment. All natural resource utilization should be based on how, in the
free market, providers can develop the technologies that we need to move past
the consumption of non-renewable resources, such as oil and gas. We should have
a balanced plan for using and managing these resources that are not based on
the government’s selection of favorites.

That’s why I’m such a large advocate for the use of solar
power, which offers the best small scale ROI compared to the larger scale
energy industries. If government is going to be involved, it should be to
incentivize both individuals and small businesses, the backbone of our country,
to integrate and leverage this growing technology. Make the tax incentives
enough to offset the early investments costs, so that homeowners aren’t breaking
the bank by adding solar power to their homes. I’d do it, for nothing more than
being able to kick the energy providers to the curb. That kind of independence
will do more to reduce residential consumption that any other idea on the
market. Even giving large scale corporations similar incentives frees up other
financial resources, which can be used in other areas of a business – such as
salaries…

What influences peoples beliefs more than any government program
is the fear of the unknown, of what’s to come. Fear in and of itself is counterproductive,
and only serves to prevent us from making the changes we need. We need clarity
in the message, all the way down to the layman – my mother. She’s a great
woman, but not technologically savvy. We have to be able to frame the
discussion in her terms, which was a point I was trying to make in the lecture.

And that’s where I think Autodesk – and other energy
modeling software companies – have a large, untapped gold mine. The details are
not in the reams of variations in data, which are compiled by PHD’s based on
complex models. It’s in the ability to make the complex, understandable. It’s
what I love about tools like Insight 360, which provide simple, easy to use
graphics and reports to explain how changes in a design can dramatically affect
the building energy performance.

Here’s a thought – BIM is a sales tool, not just a process.
It’s being able to take what were a complicated series of documents stretched
out over hundreds of sheets of 2D documentation, and convert it into a visual
that a client can more clearly understand. It expands our ability to make sense
of design decisions, and helps us avoid the short term construction issues,
while also helping us see the long term implication of the same design
decisions. Insight 360 is just one of those tools that will help us sell these
concepts to the general population, and achieve the common goal – preserve our
resources for future generations while allowing us to still enjoy what we have
developed from the same resources for centuries.

So, don’t get caught up in the TV and the hype, and the
politics and scare tactics. Instead, do your part – get your boss to let you
work from home more often – and actually work at home. Spend the extra money to
get a high efficiency HVAC system for your house – and don’t give the money to
the power company in the first place. And pick up the cans and newspapers, and
put ‘em in the recycling bin. Like we say at church – reach the Triangle and
change the World.

By the way – if you
watch the live stream video recording from class, I didn’t finish the joke. We’re
a rock blazing its way through space at 268,000 miles per hour, and we get
behind an asteroid – driven by a blue haired old lady doing 35 in the fast lane
with her left turn signal on.

Forgot to say we ran
over it – and caused a tsunami that wiped out the Pavilion in Myrtle Beach,
causing widespread vacationers to go back indoors to turn up the AC, advancing
climate change by 20 minutes…

Back to AU

Did I forget about AU? Man it was packed – love the fact it
is before Thanksgiving, and lets me stay home more for the holidays. But the
Sands is by far the best place to have the event. The people were awesome, and
the accommodations worth the price. Of course, I need to find cheaper places to
eat – they do think highly of their food.

The keynotes were a little much – not fond of Autodesk
taking an extra block of time away from classes, and offering fewer choices in
the time slots. I know, we’re still getting in over 700 classes, but I’d really
like to see more of them. Consolidate the keynotes back to opening and closing,
and we’re good.

The industry sessions were also cherry – I like the fact
that Autodesk is opening up about their future plans. Even though it’s only a
crack in the door, I like the idea that they are trying to communicate better
with their clients, and make sure we’re all headed to the same goals. Nice!

And the people that hang out with me when I present...man, I love you guys, especially the ones that keep coming back year after year. I've always wanted to make sure you left with more than just a set of directions or tips. Keep plugging, and improve your own world. I'm glad you're in mine!

Having the Expert Elite program members, which I became a
part of last year, as guests to the event, shows the appreciation has for this
extraordinary group of users. Since the program has started, we have taken –
and solved – over 30 percent of all the support cases that are posted to
Autodesk. The new Directly program that I’ve been involved with puts the
general users directly in touch with Expert Elite team members, who bring their
solutions based on real world project experiences – and the same ones you
encounter every day. These folks are family, and have a great respect for one
another. I’m happy to say I appreciate the opportunity to become friends with
some awesome people in this program.

And thanks to Carl Bass, Autodesk CEO, for hanging out with us at our annual lunch meeting. Your insights help us keep moving in the right direction. One of these days, maybe I'll get to see Pier 9 myself...

Next year, we’re back at the Sands on the same week before the
holidays, 11/14-16. And I’ll be happy to be there again – and hang out with my
extended family.

So it's Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the 'Quay. Ya'll have a great rest of the year!

Wednesday, February 3, 2016

Been seeing a lot of questions about content for AutoCAD MEP, so I thought I'd through a little gem out there. The Building Component tool lets you import an ADSK file, which can be generated by Inventor using the BIM Exchange tool, and convert it to a multi-view part for AutoCAD MEP, a multi-view block for AutoCAD Architecture, or just a block for AutoCAD.

I'm stealing a little bit from one of my online training courses provided by 4D Technologies (www.cadlearning.com), so if you want to see the video, you'll have to subscribe to the lesson set.

When you receive an ADSK file to work with, the first
step is to make sure you are already in a drawing file. It does not matter what
file is open, since the Building Component tool will add it to your catalogs,
and insert it in the current drawing for you.

On the ribbon, Insert
tab, Content panel, select Building Component. Select the ADSK file you want to import, and the Import
Building Component dialog appears.

You are given three options:

Multi-View
Part is the basis of an MEP engineering model. It includes the tools needed
to add connectors, and allows the part to be added to a standard catalog.

Multi-View
block is the basis of an architectural model. It is used to define parts
that do not require connectors, such a furniture or owner provided equipment.

Block
allows the model to be defined as a basic part.You can use this later to make a Multi-View part or
Multi-View block.

For AutoCAD MEP users, select Multi-View
Part and the Import Building Component dialog appears.

From here, you can
enter the name and description of the part.

Select the part catalog and chapter you want to store the part in.

Next, select and define the part type and subtype.
While you cannot create your own part classifications, you can add any
subtype as needed.

For the last step, select a layer key, which controls the layer the part is placed on when
added to a drawing. The layer key is based on the layer key styles that are
loaded in the current drawing, so make sure you start from a template as
needed. Click OK to continue.

Once you have assigned
these values, take a look at the object viewer in the upper right corner. These
tools let you change the default orientation
of the part on the Object View tab,
including along the x, y or z axis. Leave this set to the default. You can also select Preview Image to see what the block
will look like in the catalog and drawing.

Make sure you
have reviewed all of these settings, and then choose Add. The Multi-view part dialog appears, and let you place an
example in the drawing.

The part is
also added to the default catalog in the location specified (and I recommend making your own custom catalogs, anytime you want to customize AutoCAD MEP content!). You can also
add this your custom parts library as needed. You can also edit the part with
the Content Builder tool to add connection points for pipe and wire as needed.

If you have Inventor, make sure you check out the BIM Exchange tools. Inventor can take a wide variety of 3D file formats, with IAM and IPT parts being the best options. My next preferred file is a STP or STEP, since it converts easily to an assembly, which makes it easier to edit and remove smaller parts and detail. You can also use SAT, IGES and more, but you're limited on the file editing with these.

Use this tool to get more detail and accuracy in AutoCAD MEP - you'll be glad you did!

Tuesday, January 5, 2016

It’s been a pretty amazing year, and one of the busiest I’ve
had to date. We’ve worked on dozens of BIM projects, had learned a lot and
improved our process, while made some mistakes that have help us grow as well.

Here are my key takeaway tips for Revit and BIM projects:

Make sure you stop using mapped drive letter designations
(i.e. x:\project) when linking files – this includes CAD and BIM. When you’re
working in a Revit project, it’s the name of the server, or UNC name, that gets
stored with the project (i.e. \\server01\project).
This especially rings true when you’re working with multiple office locations
that aren’t using some form of document sharing, such as the A360 Collaboration
for Revit tools.

Clean those CAD files up - especially the layers! Make sure
you’re following the national CAD standard, but assigning the lineweight to the
line, instead of using colors for plotting lineweights. These convert
automatically to Revit linestyles, when linked or imported into a Revit model.
And make changes in the Revit model to these settings after the file is linked
in for more consistent plotting results.

Keeping pounding away at Inventor for Revit families – it’s
the best tool to clean up and prepare content for a project. The best file
format for conversion has been ADSK for me, since it got be defined for an
assembly of parts, rather than just the part.

Take some time get to know Dynamo if you’re writing code for
Revit. One of the tasks I want to look into is whether or not this up and
coming programming language can be used to define and control parameters that
are associated with MEP connections in a family…stay tuned…

AU was a great event as well. I think it was definitely one
of the busiest for me personally, between the Expert Elite events, user
research, classes I attended as well as my own. The quality of the instruction
continues to rise, and Autodesk is really picking a lot of winners when it
comes to classes. The only comments I received regarded the lack of technical instruction
over customer stories, and the limited number of MEP classes. Hopefully they
can tackle some of these next year.

I went outside of the box this year. Since it was Gannett
Fleming’s 100th anniversary, we’ve had these cardboard cutouts of
Farley Gannett, the founder of the company, in every office. Since it was
nearly time to retire the cutouts, one of my co-workers who was attending this
year’s event, helped me drag Farley all through the Valley of Fire state park,
and then through the exhibit hall on opening night. We got to tell his story,
and he made some great friends. Here’s a few of pictures from the event.

Speaking of next year, Autodesk has made a change that has
really made me happy, and hopefully will make it easier for others to attend
the event. They have signed a five year agreement to have AU stay at the
Venetian and Sands conference center, which is definitely my favorite venue. It’s
right in the heart of the strip, with easy access to other casinos, shopping
and more. The quality of the accommodations is outstanding, and the hotel
really knows how to host a top shelf convention.

But the better news is the schedule – next year, it’s before Thanksgiving – Nov. 15-17th! That means
that I get my week back in between the holidays, to spend more time at home
with family and friends in one of my favorite times of the year. It also gives
me more time to absorb what I’ve learned, and figure out how to implement new
techniques and methods before the new year. I’ll definitely be there, teaching
or not!

As always it’s an honor to teach. I know it’s hard to please
everyone, and every year there’s someone with a bone to pick. Normally I don’t
do this, but I do want to answer one easily offended critic. I’ve been showing home movies for
years before my class, but if you don’t want to see the fishing videos, that’s
fine. But I would like to personally invite you to contact me directly, so I
can invite you to go do a little fishing with me. We’ll crack open a couple of
beers, have a “come to Jesus” meeting, and I’ll do what I can to help you have
a happier life. I do hope you got something more out of the class, that will help you in your career.

And next year, the videos will all be about AU – top moments,
great friends, and my favorite parts of AU. Who knows…maybe you’ll be in them,
too! For all who played along, and hung out with Farley, and then came to the
class and listened to all the old jokes, thank you, thank you. I hope the
classes were insightful, and you took away something that will help you in your
job as well.

Monday, November 23, 2015

A while ago, I spent some time getting my Autodesk Building Performance Analysis class completed, and learned quite a bit about using programs such as Vasari and Revit to perform whole building analysis - as well as what goes into these tasks, that really should take place on every occupied structure that is designed.

During this time, I had gotten wind that Vasari was a limited shelf life product. I also had written and produced the latest Green Building Studio training videos for CADLearning, where I'm already producing content for AutoCAD MEP, Plant 3D and AutoCAD P&ID.

Then I got this press release from Autodesk about Insight 360, which "which empowers architects with centralized access to their building energy and environmental performance data and the world’s most advanced analysis engines, all within a beautiful and intuitive interface. Through robust bi-directional Building Information Modeling (BIM) integration, direct access to leading analysis tools, and guidance and recommendations from industry benchmarks, architects can approach the design process with more effective understanding of the elements that lead to better building performance outcomes throughout the building lifecycle."

We're users of IES Virtual Environment and Trace, and last week covered how to use models developed in Revit to perform energy studies using the Green Building Studio engine, but now it looks like the next generation is here. The top features include:

Visualize and interact with key industry benchmarks for performance with real-time cause and effect feedback to guide you toward better building performance outcomes.

Model with Revit and FormIt 360 Pro to generate insights using robust automatic analytical model creation and visualization of performance information directly in the modeling environment. This capability offers a powerful comparison workflow to run millions of design scenarios and see energy savings with immediate and interactive feedback.

Organize and share insights with project stakeholders and support geographically dispersed team collaboration from early targeting and feasibility analysis through operation with access anywhere via desktops, tablets, or smartphones.

Tuesday, November 17, 2015

It’s that time of year…the leaves are changing, a chill is
in the air. Holiday decorations are going up, and turkeys fear for their lives.
Stress sets in as you realize that Christmas is only 38 days away…and you have
no clue what to get the kids, the dog or your crazy aunt. Fears creeps up as you
remember you’ve got to get that donation to the thrift store or make that tax
payment…and the in-laws tell you they’re coming to stay from Thanksgiving to New
Year…and it’s your turn in the rotation to host the office Christmas Party.

And then, for the geeks in the crowd…Autodesk University is
only two weeks away. If you’re a speaker, it’s a special time of year.

A time to reflect on the thoughts and ideals you wanted to
share…until you realize you left that key sentence out of your handout, “the
opinions expressed in this document are only those of the writer”.

A day to plan out how you want to go through the right
series of steps to get a point across…and the Autodesk Application Manager
installs Revit 2016 Release 2, which changes the dialogs you captured 6 months
ago.

A minute to polish your presentation…and you see a hole in
the corner of your sport coat’s armpit…and you’re an arm waver.

A second to consider using the latest model you worked on…and
realize you never got permission to use the file from the client.

But putting all the fears aside, you plug through your PowerPoint,
make sure your teeth are brushed, that you have plenty of business cards, and
get your tablet or iPhone updated with the AU application that will keep you
from getting lost for the next several days.

For me, this year’s reflection goes back to the classes I
have. The two that Autodesk selected. The ones that were almost an afterthought,
fillers for what to use if they didn’t want the ones I really wanted to teach
this year. And it got interesting…why did these get picked? What it something
that they believe the industry wanted to hear and needed to know? Or was it
just eeny-meeny-miney-mo?

There are two, but the first one is the one I wanted to
cover the most. We talk about worksharing in a Revit project, and networking,
and collaboration solutions the design firm should consider, that offer the
best return on investment. And it wound up being the hardest presentation I’ve
had to write to date…how do you make this topic interesting? Challenging?
Inspirational? And Valuable?

As I was writing it, I realized how intense the topic could
become, and how easy it is to get lost “in the weeds” drilling down to too much
detail. I had to back myself up, and realize, from my layman’s perspective,
that sometimes it’s not about presenting yourself and how “smart” you are.

But rather, it’s about being able to relate to the same
problem someone else may be having, and how insight we provide could help them
avoid the same problems later. AU isn’t about the classes…it’s about the
networking, the personal connection and the shared mindset we all have. It’s
about coming to a common place, that we all have the same goals. To get better
at what we do, making the most of our time so have more time later to do…something
else. Sort of a “love what you do, to get to do what you love” mindset.

I realized that going back to the beginning helped me understand
better what it took to get where we are, and just how much life has changed
since the garage so many years ago.

And I as was reflecting back on the class, I thought about
what I had seen this year. I got to meet the original creators of Revit, and
tell them how big of an impact they not only had on my life, but on thousands
of others. I got to spend time with some awesome co-workers, who seized the
moment, jumped on the bandwagon, and continue to push me – and the firm – to the
next level. And we’ve been having a great time doing it, too. But it was cool
telling Leonid and Irwin just what we were doing with the software, and seeing their
keen interest in how it was being used, so far beyond what the original expectations
were.

I turned the speed limit this year, and was able to look
back on how much has changed since 1985, when I first got the chance to sit
down at a computer and draw, and see the output on an old HP pen plotter. I
look at the fascination I had then, and marvel at how far we’ve come, in just a
generation. Not just buildings, but systems. Not just offices, but water
treatment plants. Not just piping, but distribution stations that aren’t in a
building at all. And when I come back to the handout for the class, I realize –
it’s important to share where we came from, but just as important to have clear
vision for where you want to go…and learn what’s out there for you.

I think ahead about who I would groom to take my place, to
carry the banner and lead the charge for the future of design. Would they have
the same passion? Would they be willing to commit themselves to being an advocate
for getting away from “we’ve always done it that way”? Would they be able to
blend common sense in, with the same desire for making their spot in the office
and the community a better place?

Let me make a suggestion – spend some time this year looking
for the students at AU this year. Go to the exhibit hall, and look for the
youngest person in the room. Strike up a conversation – and ask them what they
think. And realize…

That’s who we’re working for. That’s who we are teaching the
skills we’ve been lucky to learn. That’s who will carry that torch. Share your
passion, your knowledge and make sure they know – hey, this can be fun, too.
Have a good time in your class – get down off the stage, get out in the
audience, and make contact. And walk away with a lifetime of friends…that you’ll
never forget.

At least until that average temperature of summer catches up
with you…you old folks know what I mean…so get ready. In two weeks, it’ll be
time to show the next generation…this is how we roll…and ramble…;-)

Friday, November 6, 2015

For those of you who prefer to use our design models for construction, Autodesk has made a couple of new product suites available. Here's a press release from Julie Jacobson and Joy Stark at Autodesk that detail the packages.

Structural engineers, detailers, fabricators, and MEP
[mechanical, electrical and plumbing] contractors around the world are
realizing that the increasing adoption of Building
Information Modeling [BIM] within the AEC industry, coupled with government
mandates, is fueling the need to participate in collaborative BIM processes to
remain competitive. In response to these trends, we’re announcing two new suites
that combine comprehensive tools to support BIM workflows for structural and
MEP design, detailing, fabrication, and construction.

The new Autodesk Structural Fabrication Suite provides structural
engineers, steel detailers, and fabricators with tools to help streamline the
process from design to fabrication with model-based deliverables. The new
Autodesk MEP Fabrication Suite provides MEP contractors, detailers, estimators
and fabricators with tools to generate better estimates, create more accurate
detailed models, and directly drive MEP fabrication while transitioning to a tailored BIM solution.

The Autodesk Structural Fabrication Suite, which includes Autodesk
Advance Steel 2016, AutoCAD
2016,
Autodesk
Revit 2016 and Navisworks
Simulate 2016, offers tools to better connect structural
design to detailing by allowing you to work more collaboratively within a BIM
environment. Revit, AutoCAD, and Advance Steel together can help users
streamline the detailing process by integrating steel detailing expertise
alongside the design. Advance Steel’s
model based environment helps users produce accurate detailed drawings faster,
helping to speed time to fabrication. The inclusion of Navisworks Simulate
helps extend fabrication to the field by supporting estimation, coordination,
and 4D simulation of steel projects. Models can be easily shared and viewed
with contractors, improving coordination and reducing waste.

The Structural Fabrication Suite is available for an annual
desktop subscription price of $3,500.
For more availability and product information, including languages
supported, click here.

The MEP Fabrication
Suite is a portfolio of interoperable 3D construction software that enables MEP contractors,
detailers, estimators and fabricators to move to
BIM based workflows at a lower cost of entry.
The Suite offers tools to streamline your detailing and fabrication
workflows, including the latest versions of CADmep, ESTmep, CAMduct, AutoCAD
2016, Autodesk
Revit 2016 and Point
Layout. Combined, these tools offer
fabrication products that generate better estimates, create more accurate
detailed models, and directly drive MEP fabrication. The Suite can also help you achieve better
outcomes with advanced coordination, 5D analysis, and simulation tools that can
be used throughout the project lifecycle while bringing model accuracy to the
field more efficiently.

The MEP Fabrication Suite is
available for an annual desktop subscription price of $4,600. For more availability and information, including
languages supported, click here.

Thursday, October 22, 2015

Now that I’ve gotten through a lot of Windows 8.1 testing, I
updated my test system, I updated to Windows 10…and surprisingly enough it was
the easiest update I had been through. Now, don’t get me wrong – I did a lot of
prep work – but the amount of post work I had to do was related more to setting
up the interface for my preferences than fixing things.

So here’s some notes, if you’re an Autodesk product user (or
even Bentley, Adobe, etc.). My system is an HP Envy 17" about two years old.

First, I removed all of the older versions of Autodesk
products prior to 2016. I didn’t need them since I had already migrated, but I’ve
been hearing from others that 2015 still works fine as well. Autodesk hasn’t
come out completely (as of this post) and said everything was compatible, but I’ve
test driven everything in the Building Design Ultimate and Plant Design Premium
suites and they all work. Keep in mind that it’s a good idea to take the
folders off the system if you don’t need them, if any remain. Another note –
remove all plug-ins, add-ins and extensions prior to uninstalling the main program,
as uninstalling some (like the Revit Extensions 2015) would not uninstall after
the main program was removed. Make sure you scroll all the way down in the
Programs and Features list, since not all of the product names start with “Autodesk”.
My bad…

Second, I used Norton to run a performance test on the
drive, allowing it to defragment the disk. I thought about using a registry
cleaner tool, but decided not to do this, and see if the install had any issues
with extraneous registry keys. So far, nothing has happened, so I’ll come back
and clean this up later.

Next, I did a disk cleanup using the drive’s Properties
tools, cleaning up temp files, system reports, debug logs, etc. to get a clean
slate. This is something you should be doing on a regular basis anyway, but
definitely do this first. Here’s what the new tool looks like in Windows 10,
and it’s pretty much the same as the earlier versions:

After doing the cleanup, I used System Recovery to set a
restore point just in case, and named it Pre-Windows 10 so I’d know which one
to use.

Last step was to back everything up that system restore didn’t
cover, like my files. I use Western Digital’s backup software with the external
hard drives as my backup system (look Ma, no tapes). I also use Beyond Compare
for folders that aren’t covered with the backup lists, as mans to sync folders.

Before starting the update, make sure you turn off extra
apps in your system tray. I turned off the Autodesk App Manager, since it’s one
of the biggest burners, along with my cloud service apps. I temporarily
suspended real time scanning since I wasn’t going to be hitting the internet
after the installer downloaded. Getting the running apps down to a minimum
helps the installer to run faster.

Once the installer was finished, all it took was a few
preference settings, and the system came back up looking very similar to
Windows 8/8.1. My shortcuts were all the same, my taskbar has the same icons.
The only thing I messed with so far was the start menu tile settings – but I’m
so glad that guy is back as part of the program, I didn’t care about the rest.

One item you need to check for sure – your System Restore
settings may get disabled. Go to Settings, and search for System Restore. Run
the configuration tool (I accepted the default amount of maximum disk space to
use), and then create a restore point. I named this one Windows 10 Initial so I’d
know where I started from.

So the good news is – Microsoft appears to have gotten this
right…give yourself an Easy button!

About Me

I'm the BIM Specialist for the engineering team at Gannett Fleming, a large engineering firm based in Camp Hill, PA. My expertise is based on over 29 years of architectural and MEP engineering design and CAD management experience. I have an Associate of Applied Science in Architecture from Wake Technical College. My Autodesk product specialties are in Autocad MEP/Building Systems and AutoCAD Architecture/Architectural Desktop, Revit Architecture and Revit MEP, Ecotect Analysis and Virtual Environment VE-Pro. I am also proficient with Naviswork, Plant 3D and am working on getting up to speed on Bentley BIM as well.
My certifications include Autodesk Expert Elite, Autodesk Architectural Desktop Certified Expert, AutoCAD/Revit MEP Implementation Certified Expert and an Revit Architecture 2015 Certified Professional. I enjoy teaching at Autodesk University every year as well. Previously, I worked in the Autodesk reseller channel from 1997-2010.